of terror and
distrust, but he shook his head and reddened as Hamlet winked at
Lazarus.

"It means some girl," observed one of the Blackland matrons.

"Well, I hope it does," responded the other.

"Wait," said the giver of the cigar, "we're stopping for wood and water.
It'll be safer to go round this front coach than through it." John
thought it would not, but yielded.

"Now, Mr. March," they stood near the water-tank--"if you could persuade
your mother to give you full control, and let you get a few strong men
to go in with you--see? They could make you--well--secretary!--with a
salary; for, of course, you'd have to go into the thing, hot, yourself.
You'd have to push like smoke!"

"Of course," said John, squaring his handsome figure; as if he always
went in hot, and as if smoke was the very thing he had pushed like, for
years.

"I shouldn't wonder if you and I"--Gamble began again, but the train
started, they took the smoker and found themselves with Halliday,
Shotwell, Proudfit, and a huge Englishman, round whom the other three
were laughing.

XXVI.

JOHN INSULTS THE BRITISH FLAG

The Briton had seen, on the far edge of Suez, as they were leaving the
town, a large building.

"A nahsty brick thing on top a dirty yellow hill," he said; what was it?

"That?" said Shotwell, "that's faw ow colo'ed youth o' both sexes.
That's Suez University."

"Univer--what bloody nonsense!"

All but March ha-haed. "We didn't name it!" laughed the Captain.

John became aware that some one in a remote seat had bowed to him. He
looked, and the salute came again, unctuous and obsequious. He coldly
responded and frowned, for the men he was with had seen it.

Proudfit touched the Briton. "In the last seat behind you you'll see the
University's spawnsor; that's Leggett, the most dangerous demagogue in
Dixie."

"Is that your worst?" said the Englishman; "ye should know some of
ours!"

"O, yes, seh," exclaimed Shotwell, "of co'se ev'y country's got 'em bad
enough. But here, seh, we've not on'y the dabkey's natu'al-bawn
rascality to deal with, but they natu'l-bawn stupidity to boot. Evm
Gen'l Halliday'll tell you that, seh."

"Yes," said the General, with superior cheerfulness, "though sometimes
the honors are easy."

"O, I allow we don't always outwit 'em"--everybody laughed--"but
sometimes we just haf to."

"To save out-shooting them," suggested the General.

"O, I hope we about done with that."

"But you'